Inferno Drainer says it’s shutting down after helping steal $70M in crypto

November 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Inferno Drainer says it’s shutting down after helping steal M in crypto

“We hope you can remember us as the best drainer that has ever existed,” wrote the scam-as-a-service wallet drainer.

Inferno Drainer, one of the most popular crypto wallet-draining kits for hire says it is shutting down for good after helping phishing scammers steal nearly $70 million worth of crypto this year.

In a Nov. 26 Telegram post, the team behind Inferno Drainer said it was “time for us to move on.” However, it said that the files and infrastructure needed to run the wallet drainer won’t be destroyed but instead will remain active so users can make a “smooth transition” to other services.

“It has been a long ride with all of you and we’d like to thank you from heart [sic]. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.”

“A big thank [sic] to everyone who has worked with us,” it added. “We hope you can remember us as the best drainer that has ever existed and that we succeeded in helping you in the quest of making money.”

*Inferno Drainer’s final message to its users. Source: Telegram*

Inferno Drainer gained prominence early this year and saw increased use after the popular Monkey Drainer tool shut down. Like its peers, Inferno offered its crypto wallet-draining software and took a 20% cut of what users stole.

Since February, Inferno Drainer has stolen nearly $70 million from over 100,000 victims, according to analytics from Web3 anti-scam platform Scam Sniffer. However, the Inferno Drainer team suggested the amount stolen was over $80 million.

The Inferno Drainer team has deleted the affiliate Telegram account “mr_inferno_drainer” used for arranging its service and warned its users not to trust other drainers using its name in the future.

Blockchain security firm CertiK told Cointelegraph that Inferno Drainer was “one of the most damaging phishing kits to the community we’ve seen.”

It added there are still “plenty of providers out there” who are active, including rival Pink Drainer and Angel Drainer, the latter of which released an update on Nov. 25 to help users drain wallets on more blockchains.

Monkey Drainer, another high-profile crypto drainer that stole millions, shut down in March, saying it was “time to move on to something better.”

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Solana-based Clockwork to shutter citing ‘limited commercial upside’

August 29, 2023 Coin Telegraph

clockwork

Clockwork’s planned closure comes about a year after receiving $4 million in a seed round led by Multicoin Capital.

The developers behind Solana-based smart contract automation project Clockwork is set to turn off key infrastructure for the protocol at the end of October, citing “limited commercial upside."

In a series of X (Twitter) posts on Aug. 27, Clockwork founder Nick Garfield Garfield said he and the team will stop active development of the protocol and on Oct. 31 will turn off its nodes on devnet and mainnet.

Garfield cited “simple opportunity cost” as the reason for the team stepping back from Clockwork, admitting there were limited commercial benefits to continuing its development and the team had a growing interest in exploring other opportunities.

Clockwork is a protocol that allows users to schedule transactions on the Solana network and create smart contracts automated to run applications when triggered by an event.

Garfield said Clockwork’s code will remain open-source and freely available online and gave his “full endorsement to fork and ship” to anyone looking to continue work on the protocol.

Developers may continue to use the software as written, but we will shut down our nodes on devnet and mainnet as of Oct 31.

The on-chain programs will be frozen, and the code will remain open-source and free to fork on GitHub.

2/
— Nick (@time_composer) August 27, 2023

According to Crunchbase data, last August Clockwork raised $4 million in a seed round co-led by venture firms Multicoin Capital and Asymmetric along with participation from Solana Ventures.

Asked by one X user whether the seed money would be returned to investors, Garfield responded it still has a meaningful portion of the funds but he will take time “before deciding one way or the other.”

We still have a meaningful portion of our seed funding. Fully shutting down is an option, but I need to take a minute to reset myself before deciding one way or the other.
— Nick (@time_composer) August 27, 2023

Clockwork’s closure follows the shuttering of other Solana protocols such as the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Friktion in January and its peer Everlend Finance a month later.

In late June the Solana-based nonfungible token (NFT) protocol Cardinal also said it was winding down due to economic conditions after raising $4.4 million around a year earlier.

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Thailand threatens Facebook over crypto scams and other fraudulent ads

August 22, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Ads

Thailand’s digital minister said he would seek a court order to shut Facebook in the country unless it takes action on the alleged scams.

Thailand is planning to seek a court-issued shutdown order against Facebook unless it takes steps to deal with alleged investment and crypto scam ads on its platform.

On Aug. 21, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) stated over 200,000 people had been duped by Facebook ads that touted crypto scams, investing in fake businesses and faked government agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Popular tactics used by the scammers included crypto investment and trading scams, MDES claimed. Some ads also allegedly used images of celebrities and well-known financial figures along with promises of up to 30% daily returns to lure people into the schemes.

MDES Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said the ministry had been in talks with and sent a letter to the Meta-owned platform over the issue but claimed it's failing to screen advertisers.

*Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn at an Aug. 21 press conference regarding the ministry’s planned court action against Facebook. Source: MDES*

The ministry is currently gathering evidence of the scam ads which it said numbered over 5,300 — at the end of the month, it’s ready to ask a court to shut down Facebook within seven days.

The ministry warned on how such scams typically operate saying consumers should be wary of promises of high and guaranteed returns along with ads using images of well-known figures.

Investments that pressure or give incentives to quickly invest with limited offers should also be approached with caution as well as businesses or platforms with no verifiable information.

Cointelegraph contacted Meta but did not immediately receive a response.

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Coinbase to cease issuing new Bitcoin-backed loans via Borrow service

May 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

cease issuing

The service allows users to borrow up to $1 million with no credit check, provided they post Bitcoin as collateral.

Crypto exchange Coinbase is stopping the issuance of new loans through its Borrow service — a product that allows certain United States customers to post crypto as collateral to receive a cash loan.

In an email sent to Coinbase Borrow customers on May 3 which was shared by recipients on Twitter, the exchange said — without providing a reason — that from May 10 customers won’t be able to take out new loans with Coinbase Borrow.

It added there would be no impact on outstanding loans and customers did not need to take any further action.

*A screenshot of the email sent to Coinbase customers advising that new Borrow loans would end on May 10. Source:* *Twitter*

Coinbase has not publicly addressed why it closed Borrow. A Coinbase spokesperson told Cointelegraph:

"We regularly evaluate our products to ensure we’re prioritizing the offerings that our customers care about most.”

The service allows users to borrow from the exchange against up to 40% of their Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, with a $1 million limit. It requires no credit check and users pay a nearly 9% annual percentage rate for the service.

The announcement is in the backdrop of a regulatory scuffle between Coinbase and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which sent the exchange a Wells notice in March, which the exchange said was in relation to “possible violations of securities laws.”

The email to users also proceed its first quarter results announcement, which is expected on May 4.

Investment analysts from Citi downgraded Coinbase shares from “buy” to “neutral” ahead of the exchanges Q1 earnings. Analyts from Mizuho also reportedly maintained its “underperform” rating on Coinbase saying its “fundamentals remain weak” citing lower average daily trading volumes.

Earlier this week, amid seeming crackdown on crypto firms in the U.S., Coinbase decided to take its exchange global, launching the Coinbase International Exchange (CIE) derivatives trading platform on May 2.

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Breaking: Signature Bank closed by New York banking authorities

March 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The New-York-based bank, which is also known to serve a number of crypto firms, was shut down by state regulators, according to a Federal Reserve announcement.

New York-based Signature Bank, another crypto-friendly bank, has been closed down by its state charter authority as of Mar. 12.

The Federal Reserve explained in a Mar. 12 statement that the decision was made in conjunction with U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to protect the U.S. economy and strengthen public confidence in the banking system.

However, the Federal Reserve quickly noted that it is backstopping all depositors of Signature Bank.

"All depositors of this institution will be made whole. As with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank, no losses will be borne by the taxpayer."

"This step will ensure that the U.S. banking system continues to perform its vital roles of protecting deposits and providing access to credit to households and businesses in a manner that promotes strong and sustainable economic growth," the statement added.

Shareholders and certain unsecured debtholders will not be protected though, according to the statement.

Signature Bank has closed down, per press release from the federal reserve pic.twitter.com/sVl8B8G8bQ
— Pledditor (@Pledditor) March 12, 2023

The Federal Reserve Board added that it will provide additional funding to eligible depository institutions to ensure banks can meet the needs of all their depositors.

This is a developing story and more information will be added as it becomes available.

Crypto Exchange Bitzlato Restores Access to User Funds

March 3, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Huobi Cloud Wallet no more: Exchange pulls plug on DeFi multi-token wallet

February 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Huobi has announced the impending closure of its Huobi Cloud Wallet service, citing strategic adjustments for the move.

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has announced that it will discontinue its Huobi Cloud Wallet platform in May 2023 citing ‘strategic and product adjustments’.

As per an announcement on Huobi’s support page, maintenance and upgrades of the multi-token wallet service will officially stop on Feb. 13. Users that are still using the Cloud Wallet are being encouraged to transfer cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to their main Huobi accounts or other wallet addresses.

Huobi Cloud Wallet’s withdrawal and transfer functions will work for the next three months, while users are cautioned not to transfer digital assets to their Cloud Wallet. Huobi Cloud Wallet’s official decommission date is May 13, 2023.

Huobi Wallet was rebranded to iToken in May 2022 following a $200 million investment from Huobi Group. The Huobi Cloud Wallet was originally launched in October 2021 as a feature of Huobi Wallet, allowing users to manage digital assets without private keys.

The provision of a custodial wallet service was aimed to drive easier access to Decentralized Finance (DeFi) applications and services . Cloud Wallet allowed users to hold tokens without having to manage private keys, with a third-party management system keeping user private keys in escrow.

Huobi Global users were touted to enjoy seamless synchronization with the Cloud Wallet service, being able to transfer tokens between the platforms to access various DeFi projects.

Huobi also made headlines in Jan. 2023, delisting 33 different tokens that violated a number of prerequisites to maintain their listing on the exchange platform. The exchange confirmed plans at the beginning of the year to retrench 20% of its staff as part of its restructuring following Justin Sun’s takeover of the company.

Cointelegraph has reached out to Huobi to ascertain the main reasons for the discontinuation of the Huobi Cloud Wallet.

Nexo shutters US Earn product a month after settling with regulators

February 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The shutdown of Nexo’s earn product follows from a multi-million dollar settlement the firm paid last month with U.S. regulators.

Cryptocurrency lending firm Nexo Capital is set to terminate its yield-bearing Earn Interest Product for its customers in the United States roughly a month after it agreed to pay $45 million in penalties to U.S. regulators.

Nexo announced the termination in a Feb. 10 blog post saying the product would be stopped on Apr. 1. The program allowed users to earn daily compounding yields on certain cryptocurrencies by loaning them to Nexo.

An update for our U.S. clients.https://t.co/wRiDOPKEqg
— Nexo (@Nexo) February 11, 2023

Nexo pointed to its Jan. 19 settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) as the reason for the halt on offering Earn.

The SEC, NASAA and at least 17 state securities regulators investigated Nexo for failing to register the offer and sale of its Earn product.

Nexo paid a $22.5 million penalty and agreed with the SEC to cease offers of its Earn product to U.S. investors, an additional $22.5 million in fines were paid to settle charges by state regulators.

Nexo did not admit or deny the findings by the SEC but agreed to a cease-and-desist order prohibiting it from violating securities law provisions.

According to Nexo’s announcement, Earn users will continue to receive interest payments until Apr. 1. Those subscribed to a fixed-term product will have it unlocked on the termination date with Nexo urging users to “begin planning the withdrawal of your funds.”

Other Nexo services and products will not be affected according to the firm.